Vietnam receives more than 6.7 million foreign tourists in the first five months of 2018

Updated at Tuesday, 29 May 2018, 17:36

The Hanoitimes - Vietnam received a total of more than 6.7 million foreign tourists in the first five months of 2018, an increase of 27.6% compared to the previous year, according to General Statistics Office (GSO).

In which, the highest growth of 62.1% in the number of tourists arriving in Vietnam from South Korea, followed by Finland, up 39.1%, and China, up 37%.

Vietnam receives more than 6.7 million foreign tourists in the first five months of 2018.

In May alone, Vietnam welcomed over 1.1 million foreign tourists, down 13.5% from the previous year. Meanwhile, in the first five months of 2018, Vietnam received nearly 5.1 million visitors were from Asia, up 33.3%; 976,900 from Europe, up 11.8%; 421,100 from the Americas, mainly from the US, up 13.8%; 193,200 from Oceania, up 12.1%, and 18,000 from Africa, up 20.9%.
Of the foreign visitors in the first five months of this year, nearly 5.4 million came to Vietnam by air, up 23.5%; roughly 1.2 million by road, up 59.9%; and 157,600 by sea, down 6.1%.
Vietnam received a record 12.9 million foreign visitors in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 29.1%. In 2017, there were 73 million domestic travellers and total revenue from tourism activities was estimated at over VND510 trillion (US$22.4 billion), according to GSO.
The strong results of the tourism industry in 2017 contributed to the growth of the service sector and promoted the development of other sectors, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.
The position of Vietnam’s tourism industry also increased on the world market. Vietnam ranked 6th in the 10 tourism destinations with the fastest development in the world in 2017, he added.
Dam said the strong growth in 2017 was partly due to positive changes in the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s tourism promotion activities. Enterprises participated in international trade fairs on tourism and implemented online tourism promotion activities, including via social networking sites.
In 2018, Vietnam is expected to welcome 15.5 million foreign visitors, an increase of 20% from 2017; serve 80 million domestic tourists, up 8% against last year; gain VND620 trillion (US$27.28 billion) from the tourists' total revenue, up by 22% in comparison to 2016.